Minotaurs
The Minotaurs are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter whose actual origins and Founding remain unknown.The Space Marine formation by this name at large in the Imperium today appears to bear little resemblance to accounts of its past. That there existed a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter called the Minotaurs, created during the Cursed 21st Founding of the 36th Millennium, is not widely contested in the Imperial record, but whether or not they are the same as the Chapter bearing the name that took part in the suppression of the Macharian Heresy in the opening decades of the 41st Millennium and the same Chapter that would later go on to play a crucial and bloody role in the Badab War and the Orphean War is not so certain. The Minotaurs possess a reputation for being unusually xenophobic Astartes, even for the Imperium, as well as often unreliable combatants who do not work well with other Imperial military units. The origins of the Minotaurs Chapter are shrouded in mystery, for the formation at large in the Imperium today appears to bear little resemblance to accounts of its past. Once, the Chapter was thought to belong to the 21st, so-called “Cursed” Founding, and to be a virtual outcast amongst the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes. Descriptions of the Minotaurs of old describe a force of berserkers that made war with savage abandon and eschewed all contact with other military forces. The Minotaurs of today have either mastered their former curse, or else they are a different body of warriors entirely, merely sharing the same name and similar heraldry. The truth may never be known, even at the highest levels, for all data relating to the Minotaurs’ origins and the current status of their gene-seed tithes is sealed by the highest possible authority. The Chapter is highly active in the prosecution of the Emperor’s wars, seemingly deployed according to the highest level pronouncements of the Senatorum Imperialis and rarely if ever answering calls to war from any other Imperial authority. Many of the operations in which the Minotaurs have been committed are notable in that they are against other Space Marine forces, often Renegades or isolated elements within an otherwise loyal Chapter that refuses to suppress its own. It appears that the Minotaurs undertake such missions with relish, perhaps testing themselves against the most potent enemy they can find—other Space Marines. Furthermore, on the rare occasion of the Chapter serving alongside brother Adeptus Astartes, the Minotaurs have displayed such open contempt that all manner of recriminations have ensued, up to and including the fighting of duels and other low level hostilities. It is often reported that the Minotaurs are disdainful of all other subjects of the Imperium and that they radiate a malign intensity that makes even the boldest Imperial general fearful of approaching them. One further detail marks the Chapter as unusual. While they appear to adhere closely to the organisational dictates of the Codex Astartes, the Minotaurs almost exclusively operate as a complete Chapter. While most Chapters spread their forces across multiple war zones, only coming together as a whole for the most momentous of conflicts, the Minotaurs rarely detach smaller forces away from the main body. This makes the Chapter a blunt instrument, but one capable of ripping through almost any enemy that dares to stand against it. This reality, combined with what appears to be a program of rapid psycho and surgical indoctrination of Neophytes, means that the Chapter is inevitably encountered as a single entity. Chapter History A Space Marine Chapter of brutal repute within the Imperium of Man, the Minotaurs have long been the brunt of suspicion and acrimony by other Space Marine Chapters. Furthermore, there are those within the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition who believe the Minotaurs possess unknown ties to the High Lords of Terra. While much of the Minotaurs' records going back over the last millennia has been ascertained through sifting through myriad battle archives from across the Imperium, much of their history before this point is not simply lost, but has been deliberately suppressed and sealed under binding edicts laid down by the High Lords of Terra that even the authority of the Inquisition cannot circumvent. It has been acknowledged that there was a Space Marine Chapter of the name Minotaurs created as part of the 21st Founding (the so-called "Cursed Founding"). But whether or not the Chapter bearing the same name millennia later during some of the most notable campaigns in the early 41st Millennium is the same has become a subject of much debate amongst Imperial scholars. The Minotaurs of the 21st Founding rapidly gained a reputation as a force whose ferocity and fury on the battlefield were all but unmatched. As time progressed, their tendency to shun the command of others, and their erratic gene-seed tithe to the Magos Inviglia of the Adeptus Mechanicus, combined with the diverse curses and genetic corruption that seemed to afflict other Chapters of their Founding, raised much darker suspicions about the nature of the Minotaurs and the secrets they might be hiding. The few fragmentary records that remain show the Chapter's gene-seed branded as "Chimeric." This, as blasphemous as it may now seem, may have indicated that the Minotaurs' genetic material was either procured from a prohibited source, mixed with a heretical genetic pool, adulterated or somehow tampered with during its creation. Many Astartes scions of the Chapters created during the 21st Founding were found to have had their gene-seed experimented on. The Minotaurs are more than likely to have been among those who had their gene-seed tampered with or altered in some way as well. It is likely that the Minotaurs' barely-controlled battle fury and desire to shun those they should have called comrade was a result of some particular curse in their blood, but whether or not their affliction has mastered them or they have finally mastered it remains unknown. Regardless, from the middle of the 38th Millennium onwards, the Minotaurs all but slipped from the Imperium's records, their deeds and battle honours suppressed or expunged by a series of edicts and data purges. When the Chapter reappeared millennia later, it was noted they had a tendency to respond quickly and without question to a call to arms from the High Lords of Terra, even when the case was to castigate, apprehend or even destroy formerly Loyal Space Marines who had been declared Renegade or had accusations of suspected transgressions lodged against them. This gave the Minotaurs a fell reputation as a Chapter. In particular, the Ultramarines and its myriad Successor Chapters are known to bear considerable ill will towards the Minotaurs and will not fight beside them after the Minotaurs' near-extinction of the Inceptors Chapter at Euxcine. Since its return to prominence, some Imperial scholars who have studied this reclusive Chapter's actions have noted the discrepancies between the Minotaurs Chapter of the present and that of the past, both in terms of structure and behaviour, and in matters of minutiae such as livery. This speculation also pertains towards the Minotaurs' gene-seed, of which tithes have been logged but remain classified at the highest level. Notable Campaigns *'Vengeance from the Void (c.M32)'– Across a hundred scattered systems in the western marches of the Segmentum Solar, cult uprisings led by a core of Chaos Space Marine warbands drawn from the Iron Warriors, Night Lords and World Eaters Traitor Legions bring entire planetary governments to their knees in a year of blood and anarchy. With whole sections on the brink of collapse, events take a dramatic turn when a combined force of the Adeptus Astartes emerges from the black depths beyond the spiral arm and launches a sudden and overwhelming attack directly upon the uprising’s command. Though many Space Marines fall in glory, the warlords of the Traitor factions are slain and the uprising fractures into a thousand localized rebellions which are soon put down by local forces. Subsequent Inquisitorial studies claim that these Space Marines are drawn from several Chapters, including the Minotaurs, Carcharodons, Death Eagles and Angels of Absolution. Other evidence however, including their estimated Founding and projected deployment dates, contradict these assertations, consigning the entire event to conjecture. *'Macharian Heresy' (ca. 400-425.M41) - When the Minotaurs reappeared again for the first time in millennia during the Suppression of the Macharian Heresy, they were a Chapter both familiar through their fell reputation and profoundly changed. Equipped to the highest Imperial standards, they fought as an integrated and highly flexible force and were based upon a powerful Chapter fleet operating more than a dozen Strike Cruisers. No less brutal than their ancient reputation suggested, they fought in what was nevertheless a more considered and controlled manner than that heard of in the ancient tales of the Imperium. During the suppression, it was the Minotaurs who formed the spearhead of the battle group which shattered the petty star empire of the outlaw Colonel Lyrias of the 11th Kahdu Armoured Corps, their Chapter's Land Raiders blasting apart the famed tanks of the elite Kahdusine "Immortals" on the ice plains of Gyros Prime. They also carried out Exterminatus orders on the Hive World of Duval and the Sword Realms of the Hope Cluster. While on the Ocean World of Nereus they hunted down and obliterated the xenos-possessed remnants of the Imperial Paladins Chapter's 4th Company in the mazes of the sub-surface cavern cities, poisoning the seas of this once vital Agri-World. The Euxine Incident was an action for which the Minotaurs gained the most infamy during the Macharian Heresy and involved the near-destruction of two Imperial Space Marine Chapters—the Doom Warriors and the Inceptors -- who had become locked in conflict. With the two combatant Chapters refusing calls to end their battle and aid with the pacification of the Macharian Crusade's conquered worlds, the Minotaurs were despatched to sunder the two and end the strife. Caring nothing for the causes or rights of the two Chapters, the Minotaurs attacked in full force. Overmatched and broken, the Doom Warriors fled the system almost immediately in a barely organised retreat. The remaining Inceptors Space Marines were forced into a humiliating surrender, as fewer than 100 Battle-Brothers survived the Minotaurs' assault. This created enmity between the Minotaurs and the Ultramarines and their Successor Chapters, who have sworn vengeance on the Minotaurs should the opportunity arise and have banned them from entering the space of Ultramar. *'Defence of Hermetica (760.M41)' - The Defence of Hermetica was a notable Imperial military campaign carried out by the Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter against the forces of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion on the world of Hermetica in 760.M41. This vital Hive World was the capital of the Chonma Sector in the Segmentum Solar, and it came under a massive assault from a vast mutant horde numbering in the millions, led by the armies of the Word Bearers Dark Apostle Leyak the Devourer in 659.M41. The Chaos attack arrived from a Warp Rift that opened on the system's edge and was carried aboard a colossal Space Hulk designated the Nightmare Paradox. Although Hermetica was well-protected, owing to the suddenness of the onslaught and the sheer scale of the Chaotic attack, the system's outer defences were soon overwhelmed, and the trans-continental hive cities of Hermetica itself swiftly became battlegrounds on which its beleaguered defenders fought desperately against the tide of damned horrors that assailed them. In 760.M41, the Minotaurs Chapter were the first outside force to respond to Hermetica's strangled pleas for help, and using their Chapter fleet's firepower for cover, they cut off the invaders from orbit and swiftly counter-assaulted the main Chaotic foothold on the planet at Hive Casaubon, centered on the Basilica of Saint Lehsor the Anchorite. The Minotaurs' assault was devastating and indiscriminate, and after a heavy bombardment of their landing zones they smashed through the cathedral district's plazas and temples in attack columns of heavy armour heedless of the cost in civilian lives. The Minotaurs' advance was relentless, blasting apart any strong point they encountered and driving the enemy before them along with thousands of trapped civilians fleeing the carnage but who had nowhere to run. Swiftly the cathedral complex itself was encircled and bombarded; its kilometre-high main spire toppled in a crossfire of turbo-laser strikes from the wings of the Minotaurs' Thunderhawk gunships. Into this storm of debris and ash, the Terminators and Assault Squads of the Chapter attacked to wipe out any survivors, led by their Chapter Master Asterion Moloc at the forefront of the attack. Fighting his way into the depths of the basilica vaults, it was Asterion Moloc who slaughtered the foul Leyak's daemon-possessed bodyguard and struck a mortal blow to their hulking, toad-like master. But before the fatal stroke could be dealt to the Dark Apostle, he fled into the Warp through the use of his black arts. The degenerate mutant tide fought on, but now leaderless and without direction, it was beaten back and contained until the arrival of the Imperial 17th Battle Group and Imperial Guard regiments from Necromunda which purged the world of the Chaos taint. Deflected from its course by Nova Cannon strikes, the Hulk Nightmare Paradox, now silent, occupies a quarantined orbit in the distant reaches of the star system, awaiting further detailed examination by the Grey Knights and the agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus. *'Badab War' (907-913.M41) - The Minotaurs arrived in the Maelstrom Zone of the Ultima Segmentum in 907.M41, answering the direct call from the acting Legate Inquisitor for more Space Marines to join the Loyalist cause against the Secessionist Chapters. The conflict was in its fourth year of open warfare, and the Minotaurs committed their entire strength to the war; ten companies and eleven capital ships of various types. While the Chapter coordinated their efforts with the Loyalist command, they operated largely independent throughout the conflict, striking targets as they saw fit. The viciousness of the Chapter's reputation for leaving no survivors among those that resisted them quickly grew, and remained uncontested until the arrival of the even more savage Carcharodons Chapter. The Minotaurs gained several important victories during this time, effectively destroying Secessionist forces on multiple worlds. However, the action for which their fame would spread far beyond the conflict (despite a deliberate suppression of the war's progress by the Inquisition), would be their wholesale defeat of the Lamenters' Chapter in a close-quarters space battle in the Optera System in the closing days of the early Badab Uprising in 908.M41. Finally, the Minotaurs withdrew from the Maelstrom Zone in 913.M41 after the fall of Badab Primaris, taking with them several former Lamenters warships to replace their own losses. *'Rynn's World' (989.M41)- The Minotaurs saw action on Rynn's World during the attempt to reclaim the Crimson Fists' homeworld from the Orks. *'Harrowing of the Night Reapers (989-992.M41)' - The Night Reapers' path to corruption began when they were condemned to Crusade on the fringes of the Laanah Rifts region following their actions during the abortive Defence of Salvation-Gamma in the midst of the Constantinus Iconoclasm. Their crime had been dereliction of duty for, when confronted by a massive counter-attack by a dozen Chaos warbands drawn to the Iconoclasm's revolt, alongside an unknown number of degenerate mutant hordes drawn from the edge-worlds of the sector, the Night Reapers had abandoned the Shrine World as both effectively indefensible and of "negligible strategic worth." Rather than allowing the world to fall, the Night Reapers turned their own weapons on the basilica-cities and granted the pilgrims and refugees who had sought harbour there a "merciful end." The rage of the Ecclesiarchy over this loss was boundless and ensured the Night Reapers Chapter's censure by the High Lords of Terra. Shorn of their Fortress-Monastery and Chapter homeworld and condemned to the perilous and thankless task of policing the outer reaches of the Laanah Rifts, the Night Reapers bore their punishment with grim impassivity and obedience but little contrition -- or at least appeared to. Within a decade, however, Imperial contact with the Chapter, which had long carried a reputation for ruthless efficiency, independence and technical aptitude, grew untowardly infrequent. Official contact ceased and such second-hand reports of them that could be gleaned pointed towards steadily increasing deviation from Codex Astartes doctrine, tactics and equipment in their ranks. In 989.M41, some six standard years after the last Imperial contact, the Night Reapers were declared Excommunicate Traitoris after forensic examination of wreckage found in the Guyathis Belt provided incontrovertible evidence of the Chapter's direct responsibility for the destruction of the Rogue Trader fleet of Baron Stross Yuen. This followed a series of other raids and incidents where the involvement of the now-Renegade Chapter had been suspected, but firm enough evidence could not be found to blame them, while several Imperial expeditions to find the Night Reapers had disappeared without trace. The first Space Marines to respond to the call to find and punish the Night Reapers comprised a four-company strong force of the Avenging Sons Chapter who, alongside Imperial Navy support, set out into the Rifts in search of the Renegade Chapter. Responding to a distress call from the Imperial outpost on Svarga Wells, the Night Reapers ambushed the Avenging Sons and forced them into a humiliating retreat, capturing one of their Strike Cruisers, wrecking a second and badly mauling their would-be destroyers. The debacle of the Avenging Sons' defeat, which they blamed on the Night Reapers' use of unknown "Warp flame weapons" that bypassed their starships' Void Shields, moved the High Lords into direct action and two full Chapters of Space Marines, the Red Templars and the Minotaurs, alongside considerable local support from the fleets and defence forces of neighbouring sectors, were directly tasked with the destruction of the Night Reapers. This was to be done before their threat could grow further, lest they become a beacon to other Renegades and malcontents in an already troubled region. The harrowing of the Night Reapers was to take a further three years of running battles to reach its fruition and it was a campaign in which, of the Imperial Chapters, the Red Templars, experts as they were in search and destroy and pursuit operations, were to be the hounds and the Minotaurs with their brute strength and aggression would be the hunter ready to deal the death blow. The Night Reapers fought with savage resistance across a dozen star systems and in a score of ship-to-ship battles as they were driven before the Imperials, bloodying their pursuers at every turn. It soon transpired that the Night Reapers, having thrown off the rule of the Emperor, had sought advantage in innovation, their Techmarines adapting xenos weapons technology originating with the cursed and near-extinct Hellgrammite race to their own ends, and their masters striking pacts with the servants of the Archenemy to further their cause. From this the Night Reapers gained the strength to resist the Imperial onslaught for a time, but their relentless foes eventually cornered the bulk of the surviving Night Reapers at the Perun Cross -- a massive derelict pre-human space wreck large enough to have accrued its own thin atmosphere and parasitic life over the long ages. Here the Night Reapers were tunnelling into the ancient artificial core of the wreck, kilometres deep, in search of a weapon that they believed would be sufficient to rid themselves of the Imperial forces who now encircled and besieged them. Events as they transpired at the bitter point of the siege remain shrouded in confusion, but what is known is that at the height of the Minotaurs' attack, the Grey Knights Strike Cruiser Equinox Blade and a force of Grey Knights, under the command of Brother-Captain Danicus, arrived in orbit around the Perun Cross. Entering the fire zone, they ordered the Imperial forces to concede to their authority and pull back from the assault; the Minotaurs, however, were not included to this course. The retreat of the Loyalist forces paved the way for Brother-Captain Danicus of the Grey Knights to conduct a teleport assault into the depths of the Perun Cross as the battle raged on. What then transpired remains unknown, but sometime shortly afterwards the Perun Cross' '' structure broke up into burning fragments, riven by a series of gigaton-level explosions. The demise of the ''Perun Cross led to the complete loss of the Grey Knights' force and a substantial, but undefined, number of Minotaurs Space Marines, along with heavy damage to the Equinox Blade and the death of all those left on board. Asterion Moloc, the stern Chapter Master of the Minotaurs, is known to have survived the incident as he was once again witnessed commanding his Chapter in battle some months later, while the Grey Knight Lords of Titan and the Ordo Malleus have remained curiously silent over their losses. As for the Night Reapers Chapter, it is believed that the fiery death of the Perun Cross served as the funeral pyre for this once-Loyal Chapter. Whatever profane secrets surrounded them are believed to have been buried there, as well. Chapter Organisation seconded to the Deathwatch, inspecting a Space Hulk]] The Minotaurs conform to both the structural and squad-level pattern of the Codex Astartes in terms of broad organisation. But at a tactical level this Chapter differs significantly in its general approach to warfare. The Minotaurs prefer to operate as a whole, or at least in as few divisions of its forces as possible in any given theater of war, concentrating and thereby maximising its destructive power. This strategy has allowed the Chapter to excel at siegecraft and in combat against monstrous opponents, which they can overwhelm by sheer weight of numbers if need be. Unlike most Space Marine Chapters, some of the Minotaurs' key tactics are partly dependent on the use of superior attrition within a confined area of engagement, the Chapter's commanders perhaps less mindful of the fate of their Battle-Brothers than some, so long as victory is achieved. Two significant factors aid the Minotaurs in their chosen pattern of warfare; their excellent supplies of heavy arms and war machinery and a markedly rapid influx of new Neophytes to replace ongoing losses due to attrition. The exact source of their war material has remained unconfirmed, but they have been observed to operate using large and replenishing stockpiles of tanks and heavy armour (primarily Vindicators and Predators as tactical support vehicles). The Minotaurs have also been observed to have widespread access to supplies of the advanced Mark VIII "Errant" Power Armour, and commonly field much of their 1st Company as Terminators in combat. During the Orphean War the Chapter was observed to field no less than ten Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts, indicating that the Minotaurs possess an unusual number of this ancient Dreadnought pattern in their armoury. Another unusual aspect of the Minotaurs is the methods in which they are able to replace losses in manpower so quickly. The speed of transition between Neophyte, Scout Marine and full Battle-Brother in the Chapter is brief compared to that of many other Space Marine Chapters. This is explained by the use of extremely high levels of programmed psycho-indoctrination and neuro-cerebral surgery by the Chapter. This program accelerates the recruits' progression and is continued during deployment as ongoing treatments to reinforce mental conditioning administered by the Chapter's Apothecaries. These techniques, though not forbidden as heretical, have inherent dangers that could carry a greater risk of damaging the subject physically and mentally than those normally performed by other Chapters. Most Space Marine Chapters consider the more studied training and battlefield erudition of their Neophytes to be a key component in tempering the soul of a warrior rather than the dangerous artificial techniques employed by the Minotaurs to replace their often self-inflicted losses. Contemptor Dreadnoughts , Hecaton Aiakos]] The Minotaurs Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes has a reputation, alongside that which it maintains for ruthlessness and destructiveness, for the quality and capacity of its armouries. This factor is most evident in the large number and diversity of Dreadnought frames the Minotaurs maintain in active service. As well as the more common types and patterns found in the Space Marine Chapters of the late 41st Millennium, the Minotaurs maintain numerous examples commonly existing only as extreme rarities in many other Chapter armouries. A case in point is the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought. Once a commonplace pattern in the ancient days of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium, the Contemptor and its sub-patterns were arguably the apotheosis of Space Marine Dreadnought design. They featured many systems and technologies in common with the feared battle-automata of the now lost Legio Cybernetica, including compact atomantic reactor and energy shield systems, the arts of constructing which it is widely believed have long since passed beyond use. For the Minotaurs Chapter to be able to field at least ten such war machines in observed conflict during the Orphean War against the Necrons is, to say the least, remarkable for an Space Marine organisation of the current era. Deathwatch Service While the Minotaurs appear to adhere closely to the organisational dictates of the Codex Astartes, the Minotaurs almost exclusively operate as a complete Chapter. While most Chapters spread their forces across multiple war zones, only coming together as a whole for the most momentous of conflicts, the Minotaurs rarely detach smaller forces away from the main body. This makes the Chapter a somewhat blunt instrument, but one capable of smashing any foe that dares stand against it. This, combined with what appears to be a program of rapid psychological-and-surgical indoctrination of Neophytes, means that the Chapter is inevitably encountered en masse. How many Minotaurs have the opportunity or the temperament to stand a Vigil of the Long Watch is unknown and the Chapter has not been well-represented at Watch Fortress Erioch in the Jericho Reach. Chapter Combat Doctrine fighting against a band of Chaos Cultists]] The ancient repute of the Minotaurs of the 21st Founding suggests that on the battlefield their Astartes often times eschewed any form of combat that did not allow them to rapidly get to grips with their enemies as fast as possible. This highly autonomous, almost berserk force was often announced in a war zone without preamble or even much by the way of reconnaissance. They would hurl themselves at the enemy without heed of loss or cost. Their fury spent, the Minotaurs would then withdraw as suddenly as they had arrived. This pattern made the Minotaurs too unpredictable and unreliable a force to be counted on by their fellow Imperial allies. The Minotaurs that emerged in the early years of the 41st Millennium were quite different in regards to how they prosecuted a campaign. The Chapter now preferred to deploy a vanguard to pin their enemies in combat, then use fast units to encircle them to ensure there can be no escape before bringing in the full weight of the Chapter's firepower and heavy armour to crush the foe without mercy. Still highly autonomous, the Minotaurs go where they are willed by the needs of the Imperium but now seem far more content to operate within the structure and command of the Imperial war machine than the Chapter's distant history suggests. Chapter Beliefs The Minotaurs seem to bear little respect for anyone or anything, save the Emperor of Mankind and the High Lords of Terra, for whom they have displayed fanatic and unquestioning loyalty. The Chapter tends to show no love for civility or deference when dealing with individual Imperial commanders and other Space Marine Chapters, but they have been known to show pleasure in testing their skills against worthy foes. Some speculate that perhaps the Minotaurs consider their fellow Astartes as particularly worthy. In one well-recorded incident, the Chapter nearly came to blows with the Genesis Chapter after deliberately insulting the name of Marneus Calgar. Bloody conflict between them was only averted by the arrival of a fresh wave of Orks from the Octarian Empire. Given this predilection for testing themselves against their fellow Space Marines, it is unsurprising that the Minotaurs would appear during the Badab War. The Astral Claws and other Secessionist Chapters would have certainly proved to be worthy foes. Some Imperial commanders who have served with the Minotaurs since their reemergence have gone on record, hinting that this Chapter is at the edge of madness or heresy - describing the defences and security precautions taken by them even when dealing with supposed allies as obsessive bordering on the paranoid. Given the number of enemies both within and without the Imperium this is perhaps unsurprising. Notable Minotaurs , Chapter Master of the Minotaurs, outfitted in Tartaros Pattern Artificer Terminator Armour and wielding the relic weapon known as the Black Spear and his Heraldic Storm Shield during the Orphean War]] *'Lord Asterion Moloc, Master of the Minotaurs, Satrap of the ''Daedelos Krata, Bringer of Wrath''' - Asterion Moloc is the current Chapter Master of the fearsome and brutal Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter. This paranoid and bloody-handed Astartes commander revels in his dark reputation and his name is a byword for death and mayhem carried out in the name of the benevolent Emperor of Mankind. Lord Asterion Moloc is a brutal tactician and enjoys the utter destruction of his foes, but has little patience for councils or strategic planning when forced by circumstance to work with other Imperial forces. Instead he chooses to remain aloof, as is his Chapter's nature, often sending his Reclusiarch (High Chaplain) Ivanus Enkomi as his Chapter's emissary and his personal representative in such matters. During the conflict known as the Badab War there was no record of Asterion Moloc ever being present for a war council of the Loyalist Astartes Chapters involved in the conflict. The only record of his presence in the war came from pict-footage recovered from battle scans and fearful stories spread by the few Secessionist survivors of the Minotaurs' brutal attacks. A veteran of hundreds of battles, his body has been heavily rebuilt with cybernetic augments and his sheer spite and malice is enough to allow him to shrug off wounds that would fell a lesser Space Marine. A brutal tactician, Moloc takes pleasure in the utter destruction of his foes, and is most often found in battle at the head of his Chapter's Terminators slamming into the enemy line. He is also a diligent and disciplined logistician and strategist, and a master of siegecraft. Outside of battle he can be found on his brazen throne at the centre of the maze-like chambers of the heavy Assault Carrier Daedelos Krata, surrounded by datafeeds, tabulation Servitors and casualty reports, measuring the drops of blood spilt in pursuit of his Chapter's strategic goals. Asterion Moloc would also serve as the commander-in-chief of the Space Marine forces deployed against the Necrons of the Maynarkh Dynasty during the Battle of Amarah in the Orphean War, though the Chapter Master of the Minotaurs had grown to become a dark legend among the Adeptus Astartes long before the horrors of that conflict erupted. Regarded as brutal, ruthless and indefatigable by his peers within the ranks of the Space Marines, he was also marked by his actions in a score of warzones across the 41st Millennium as a byword for slaughter and destruction carried out in the name of the Emperor of Mankind. This legend was further shadowed by rumours of paranoia and brutality seldom evidence by those who remain in the service of the Golden Throne. As such, by the time of the Orphean War, Asterion Moloc had, to many within the Imperial military hierarchy, come to symbolise and personify the Minotaurs Chapter itself. Their complex reputation both as defenders of the Imperium against the alien and the degenerate served as a counterpoint to darker fame as feared executioners of internal dissenters and wayward Space Marines, and had already assured them a place in Imperial myth before the epic conflict at the world of Amarah had taken place. Of the true character and history of Asterion Moloc the man little is known to outside observers, even to those in the ranks of the Inquisition and Militaris, save at the higher-most levels, and as with much of his Chapter such tales that abide are shrouded in mystery, rumour and contradiction. What can be said for certain is that he is a powerful combatant and is known to have personally slain several Renegade Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes, alongside the ranks of Ork Warbosses, xenos corsair princes and Chaos Champions of the Dark Gods who have all fallen before him. In the void battle which raged in the Amarah System against the Necrons during the Orphean War, he personally led the desperate assault on the command vault of the Necron Tomb Ship designated Dead Hand, where he confonted, struck down and severely damaged the Necron Overlord present there, believed by the savants of the Ordo Xenos to be none other than Kutlakh, the war leader of the Maynarkh Dynasty, before he was himself cast badly wounded into the void and later recovered by the remaining voidships of his Chapter fleet. In this last incident, Moloc himself was reported initially to have been lost and remained so for some time, which corresponds to at least six other incidents known to wider Imperial record over the last five standard centuries where the Chapter Master of the Minotaurs is thought to have been killed only to late reappear. This, coupled with the Minotaurs Chapter's insularity and the very high level of cybernetic rebuild their master is known to have undergone, has led to the rather extreme supposition by some observers that Asterion Moloc has not been one Space Marine, but many down the centuries, each inheriting not only a name and panopoly as some have suggested but also, and somewhat blasphemously, an engramatically-enforced personality and recorded memories taken from many different lifetimes. Others dismiss this as a slanderous accusation of the use of forbidden technology designed to smear a Chapter whose actions and use have already garnered them many enemies both in the Imperium's political and martial spheres. *'Reclusiarch Ivanus Enkomi, The Voice of the Chapter '- Ivanus Enkomi is the current Reclusiarch (High Chaplain) of the fearsome Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter. A skilled tactical commander, he leads his forces from the front in battle, exhorting them to ever greater heights of hatred and destruction against the foes of the Emperor of Mankind. During the infamous internecine conflict known as the Badab War, Chaplain Ivanus Enkomi was at the forefront of the Minotaurs' offensives in several key battles. Enkomi served as the Minotaurs' primary representative to the Loyalist war council that oversaw the Badab War. *'Hecaton Aiakos' - Known as the Guardian of the Daedelos Krata, and the "Terror of Bifrost," Hecaton Aiakos is a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought of the Minotaurs Chapter. As with much that surround this fearsome Chapter, the history and perhaps even the true name of the being entombed within this ornate Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought is shrouded in mystery. He was identified by the distinctive heraldry designating his participation in the Battle of Optera during the boarding assault on the Lamenters Chapter Strike Cruiser Mater Suspiria during the Badab War, the defence of the Black Gates of Hive Vitria against the Genestealer Cult of the Dreaming Deeps and, perhaps infamously, he was at the forefront of the slaughter of the "Traitor 2-19th" during the Bifrost Uprising. In this last battle Aiakos gained notoriety beyond his Chapter when a detachment of Bifrost Huscarl infantry, under the brevet command of Brother-Sergeant Augustine of the Viper Legion Chapter, mistakenly fired on the battle-damaged and gore-drenched Minotaurs Dreadnought. So provoked, Aiakos rampaged through the Imperial lines, killing thirty-seven Huscarls and Augustine himself in his fury, and ripped open a supporting Leman Russ Tank which had tried to stop him, before obeying a countermand Vox order issued from orbit by his Chapter Master Asterion Moloc to stay his hand. Despite his power and battlefield record, as with many of the Dreadnoughts who operate in the ranks of the Minotaurs Chapter, outsiders have noted Aiakos is treated without the due reverence that other Space Marine Chapters display toward their Dreadnoughts. Instead, cold indifference is displayed to him by his fellow Battle-Brothers for reasons unknown. *'Hecaton Morbus' - Hecaton Morbus is a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought of the Minotaurs Chapter. Morbus took part in the Battle for Amarah Prime during the Orphean War. At the time of the Necron Maynarkh Dynasty's invasion of Amarah Prime, Hecaton Morbus, along with several squads of Minotaurs Astartes, halted the rout of the Imperial defenders at Callowsheen Hive and accounted for the destruction of several Necron Triarch Stalker battlewalkers at close quarters during the combat. *'Hecaton Palaemon' - Hecaton Palaemon is a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought of the Minotaurs Chapter. This Dreadnought was part of the cadre of Dreandoughts permanently based on the assault Battle Barque Daedelos Krata, the Chapter's massive flagship. Hecaton Palaemon was launched by Boarding Torpedo into the flank of the Necron Tombship Dead Hand as part of the Minotaurs' desperate assault during the Amarah void battle of the Orphean War against the Necrons of the Maynarkh Dynasty. The Dreadnought's final fate remains unknown. *'Vigilator Sergeant Hamath Kraatos' - Hamath Kraatos is the non-commissioned officer who serves as the second-in-command of the Minotaurs' 9th Devastator Reserve Company. His progress through the ranks of the Minotaurs has been rapid, unwarrantedly so by the standards of many Space Marine Chapters. He has achieved this rise by demonstrating his ability as a warrior, and through a phenomenal proficiency with ballistic weapons of all kinds. He has proven himself to be ruthless and calculating as a leader, with a murderous edge to his temper. His skills and combat record have been rewarded both with an early command assignment and with access to the advanced wargear of the Chapter's armoury. When the Minotaurs Chapter was first drawn into the Orphean War, Kraatos distinguished himself not against the great Necron threat of the Maynarkh Dynasty but against xenos corsairs driven from their lairs by the implacable advance of the oncoming machine-horde. Given command of a demi-company to hold the fuelling station at Attendum, Kraatos used the outpost's human workers and Servitors as bait, corralling them in the central refinery area. Drawn by the temptation of flesh, blood and souls, the Dark Eldar corsairs drove into what appeared an ill-defended refuge intent on taking captives rather than outright destruction, and so their fate was sealed. As the aliens' dark soul-hunger overtook their caution, Kraatos' Minotaurs rose from concealing positions and caught the xenos in a pre-arranged series of crossfires and enfilades, shredding their lightly armoured transport first and trapping them in the refinery's heart. in the three-hour gun battle that followed, over two hundred Dark Eldar Kabalites were laid to waste. It is a tribute to the efficiency and skill of Kraatos and his Minotaurs that civilian casualties proved far less than expected, with only six in ten civilians being slain during the operation. *'Vanguard Veteran Sergeant Thoul' - Thoul participated in the Badab War as a Sternguard Veteran Sergeant, where he racked up sixty-seven confirmed kills at the Judgement on Vyaniah. During the Orphean War, Thoul, now a Vanguard Veteran Sergeant, was assigned to lead the Minotaurs' force numbering some five squads with Storm Eagle and Techmarine support that was attached to the Ordo Xenos Interdiction Force-Kappa to perform an interdiction operation at Thamyris. Thoul proved to be a particularly savage and aggressive commander when operating under his own independent authority in attacking the waking Necron tombs of the Maynarkh Dynasty. Although the Inquisition's interdiction force was eventually driven off the accursed world, thanks to a series of raids by the Minotaurs, Deathwatch Kill-teams and Death Korps of Krieg Combat Engineer strike forces, a number of Necron structures and tomb complexes were successfully sabotaged and badly damaged, thus denying them to the foe. *'Ancient Geryon' - Veteran Sergeant Geryon died during the Lampatan Assault of the Badab War. After being mortally wounded during this campaign, Geryon was entombed in the robotic chassis of a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought. During the Orphean War, Ancient Geryon was part of the bodyguard retinue of Chapter Master Asterion Moloc that fought with him on the Necron Tomb Ship Dead Hand during the void battle phase of the Battle of Amarah Prime. During the fight, Geryon engaged in single combat with the ship's Necron Overlord, resulting in Geryon being forced to his knees. Before the death stroke could be dealt, Geryon was saved by Asterion Moloc himself. *'Terminator Veteran Sergeant Ixthalion' - Sergeant Ixthalion was the commander of Squad Ixthalion, designated Tartaros Pattern Tactical Dreadnought Armour Assault Force "Dead Hand." Ixthalion's Terminator squad died during the void battle phase of the Battle of Amarah Prime, when they conducted the assault on the Tomb Ship Dead Hand, fighting the way to the main control vault of the massive Necron warship. Their presence allowed the control vault to be targeted for a precision teleport strike by the Minotaurs' Chapter Master Asterion Moloc and his Honour Guard. *'Sergeant Astrophane' - Sergeant Astrophane was a Minotaurs Tactical Marine squad leader within the 3rd Battle Company who was stationed on the Strike Cruiser Stymphalos. Astrophane was slain during the orbital assault against the Necron Tomb Citadel complex designated Abhorrence-5. Chapter Relics *''The Black Spear'' - A deadly relic-weapon of unknown provenance, the Black Spear ''is similar in some regards to the sacred arms of the Adeptus Custodes. The spear is a Power Weapon of remarkable potency, able to pierce even Terminator battle plate. It also incorporates a single-shot laser weapon sufficiently potent enough to be used as an anti-tank weapon if needed. The ''Black Spear is currently wielded by Chapter Master Asterion Moloc and is the ceremonial badge of office of every Master of the Minotaurs. *''Unmaker's Touch'' - In many Chapters, the mighty Chainfist is a weapon that sees use only in the direst of conflicts, as the armour of most Battle-Brothers is insufficient to bear the weight and supply the power of such a weapon. The Minotaur’s great stock of Terminator Armour means that they are able to bring forth such weapons more easily than most. Of the terrible weapons so mounted, few are more feared than the Chainfist called Unmaker’s Touch. Its potent power field makes a mockery of armour and vehicles, and has also served admirably against the creations of Hereteks and other unliving foes. Chapter Fleet The Minotaurs possess a mighty Chapter fleet composed of no less than 12 Strike Cruisers and at least one Battle Barge at the time of the Badab War. At the start of the Orphean War in 991.M41, the Minotaurs' Chapter fleet had expanded to consist of 3 Battle Barges, of which two were destroyed during that conflict, and 8 Strike Cruisers. *''Daedelos Krata'' (Heavy Assault Carrier) - The Daedlos Krata served as the flagship of the Minotaurs' large and powerful Chapter Fleet. *''Daughter of Tempests'' (Battle Barge) - The Daughter of Tempests was taken as a spoil of war from the Lamenters Chapter during the Badab War. This warship was shot asunder by a crossfire of ''Scythe''-class Harvest Ships during the Orphean War. *''Fedelitas Lambda'' (Battle Barge) - The Minotaurs' Battle Barge Fedelitas Lambda sacrificed itself by ramming the Necron flagship, a ''Cairn''-class Tomb Ship called the Dead Hand, during the climax of the Orphean War, causing substantial damage to the flagship and driving it away. The flight of the damaged Necron flagship led to the rout of the Maynarkh Dynasty's fleet, marking the end of the battle for Amarah Prime. *''Stymphalos'' (Strike Cruiser) - The Stymphalos was one of the warships of the Minotaurs' Chapter fleet that took part in the orbital phase of the Battle of Amarah Prime during the Orphean War and emerged with a surprisingly small amount of battle damage from that massive void battle. Chapter Appearance Since their reemergence, some Imperial commanders have gone on record as finding the Space Marines of the Minotaurs Chapter to be brooding and malign warriors, far from the epitome of honour and righteousness. The Chapter's individuals hold about them an aura of barely restrained spite and malice that breeds fear and apprehension in all but the strongest heart. The Power Armour worn by the Battle-Brothers of this Chapter typically bears syncretic iconography, denoting rank and battlefield record. Many of these symbols have meanings hidden from outsiders to the Chapter, though it is believed that the numeration and colouration of the "lamda" Helikan-glyph markings common to Minotaurs heraldry refer to attested "kills" against worthy opponents in single combat, likely in increasing order of magnitude. Chapter Colours The Minotaurs Chapter's original colour scheme was yellow, with red decorations (usually warning markings). The Minotaurs contemporary colour scheme is that of bronze armour with some darker red on the shoulder plates at times. Chapter Badge The Chapter's original badge is a blue bull's head on a yellow background. The contemporary Chapter badge is a red bull's head with black horns on a bronze background. Members of the elite 1st Company wear a variant of the Chapter badge; a bronze bull's head on a dark red background. Sources *''Chapter Approved: The Fourth Book of the Astronomican'' (2004), "The Cursed Founding by Andy Hoare, Graham McNeill & Phil Kelly, pp. 4-9 *''Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter'' (RPG), pp. 117, 135 *''Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War, Part One'', pp. 42-43, 48 *''Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War, Part Two'', pp. 9-10, 23-24, 27, 47, 51, 58-59, 104-113, 176-177 *''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus'', pp. 56-58, 132-147, 149 *''Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost & The Damned'', pp. 21, 25 *''Warhammer 40,000 Compendium'' (1st Edition), "The Badab War", pg. 34 *''White Dwarf'' 260 (UK), "Index Astartes: The Cursed Founding" Gallery File:Mark VII Brother.jpg|Minotaurs Tactical Marine Battle-Brother Alkyon in Mark VII Aquila Pattern Power Armour File:Mark IV Veteran Brother.jpg|Minotaurs Veteran Battle-Brother Isskar in Mark IV Maximus Pattern Power Armour File:Mark IV Veteran Sergeant.jpg|Minotaurs Veteran Sergeant Geryon in Mark III Iron Pattern Power Armour with a Mark IV Maximus Pattern Helm File:Mark VII Sternguard Veteran.jpg|Minotaurs Sternguard Veteran Thoul in Mark VII Aquila Pattern Power Armour File:Minotaurs_Dev._Marine.jpg|Minotaurs Devastator Marine Sergeant Merakus in archaic Mark III Iron Pattern Power Armour File:Minotaurs_Tact._Marine.jpg|Minotaurs Tactical Marine Veteran Astrophane wearing Mark VIII Errant Pattern Power Armour File:Minotaurs_Vet._Asslt..jpg|Minotaurs Vanguard Veteran Sergeant Thoul in Mark IV Artificer Augmented Maximus Pattern Power Armour File:Minotaurs_Apothecary.jpg|Intendant Haukar, a Minotaurs Apothecary, in Mark IV Maximus Pattern Power Armour with a modified Mark VI helm File:Terminator Veteran Sergeant.jpg|Minotaurs Veteran Sergeant Zelaos in Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour File:Minotaurs_Tartaros.jpg|Minotaurs Vanguard Veteran Ixthalion in Tartaros Pattern Terminator Armour File:Minotaurs MkIV Dred_'Ancient Ephesios'_Close Assault Config..jpg|The Minotaurs Mars Pattern Mark IV Dreadnought Ancient Ephesios in close assault configuration Minotaur_Mortis_Dreadnought.jpg|The Minotaurs Mark V Mortis Pattern Dreadnought Hellfire, armed with two Missile Launchers File:Hecaton Palaemon.png|The Minotaurs Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought Hecaton Palaemon who took part in the Minotaurs' defence of Amarah Prime during the Orphean War Minotaurs Contemptor Dred.jpeg|Minotaurs Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought, armed with a Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon and a Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon with in-built twin-linked Bolter File:Minotaurs Land Raider 'Dakor Rex'.jpg|Minotaurs Land Raider Dakor Rex, destroyed during the Siege of Isin in the Badab War Minotaurs Land Raider Prometheus.jpg|A Macragge Pattern Land Raider Prometheus of the Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter Minotaur_Predator_Annihilator.jpg|Minotaurs Deimos Pattern Predator Annihilator with Mournblade Pattern Lascannon Minotaur_Damocles_Command_Vehicle.jpg|Minotaurs Mark IIIc Damocles Command Vehicle Scylia, lost in action during the Battle of Amarah Prime File:Minotaurs Whirlwind Mobile Spt. Vehicle.jpg|Minotaurs Whirlwind Mobile Fire Support Vehicle File:StormEagle0001.png|Minotaurs Anvilus Pattern Storm Eagle Assault Gunship Herodal's Wrath, ROC variant anti-armour weapons configuration File:StormEagle0002.png|The Fortuna Mori, dedicated transport craft for the Minotaur Chapter's Reclusiarch, Ivanus Enkomi File:Minotaur Drop Pod.jpg|Minotaurs Forge Pattern Lucius/Deadelos Krata Assault Drop Pod Category:M Category:Badab War Category:Cursed Founding Chapters Category:Imperium Category:Minotaurs Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines